It’s almost Mueller time — that long-awaited moment when special counsel Robert S. Mueller III releases the findings of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election — and when it is, The Washington Post will quickly have a book on it.
The book will include the report itself along with context from The Post, edited by national security Editor Peter Finn, including an introduction by investigative reporters Rosalind S. Helderman and Matt Zapotosky, a timeline of key events, and a rundown of the cast of characters involved in the drama.
Expect the e-book within two to three days of the report and the paperback in five to eight days, per a Scribner spokesman.
Post Executive Editor Martin Baron, who hatched the idea for the project, says the format will give readers a fuller understanding of the report — the release of which could bring down workplace productivity around the globe.
“I think the whole world is waiting for the findings from the special counsel,” Baron says. “We at The Post, along with Scribner, think it’s important to get those findings out to the public, when and if they become available, quickly and in a way people can study in their entirety and fully absorb.”
And he plugged The Post’s Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of Russian influence in the election. “Roz Helderman and Matt Zapotosky, having worked for years now on this story, have a ton to offer in terms of analysis and context as people read what the special counsel has learned,” Baron says.
There’s precedent for government reports, which aren’t copyrighted, becoming hot sellers in book form: The Starr report on former president Bill Clinton was published by several different entities, including The Post, and the report by the government commission investigating the 9/11 terrorist attacks was named as a finalist for a 2004 National Book Award.